The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) has released the first patch of the French Poetry Encyclopaedia, translated into Arabic, as part of its ‘Kalima’ Translation Project. The sizeable batch was edited and curated by France-based Iraqi poet and academic Kazem Jihad, who specializes in Arabic literature and Western European poetry.
A team of translators from various Arab countries participated in translating this batch, including Palestinian Nuha Abu Arqoub, the late Ghada El Samrout, Danielle Saleh, and Marie Tawk from Lebanon; the late Mohammed bin Saleh, Mohamed Ali Al Yousfi, Abu Bakr Al Ayyadi, and Qaysar Jalidi from Tunisia; and Qusai Qajo from Syria.
The first batch includes more than 30 volumes, each ranging from 120 to 180 pages. The series comprises individual volumes dedicated to great figures of French poetry, as well as collective volumes featuring extensive selections from other celebrated poets in the history of French poetry, even if they are not necessarily considered among its greatest figures or geniuses.
Extensive selections
Kazem Jihad highlighted the need for a dual approach in compiling the series, which was designed to include extensive selections from dozens of figures renowned in French and Francophone poetry. Jihad worked on the encyclopaedia with great passion and patience, carefully curating its themes without favouring one current over another or diminishing one prominent voice in favour of another.
“Therefore, the encyclopaedia reflects a broad diversity that covers various forms of spiritual, intellectual, lyrical, and tragic experiences,” he said. “It includes a range of innovations in both form and substance, driven by a fundamental belief that poetry, if not diverse, generous, and aspiring to freedom, loses its essence and purpose.”
The first batch of the encyclopedia covers the period from the end of the medieval era, which saw the birth of the French language, replacing Latin and regional dialects that previously divided the linguistic map of France, to the early 20th century. The encyclopaedia opens with a volume dedicated to medieval poets whose works date from the late 14th to the late 15th century, most notably Guillaume de Machaut, Jean Froissart, Charles d’Orléans, Christine de Pizan, and the renowned François Villon. This is followed by seven volumes dedicated to the 16th century, which also include pioneering female poets such as Pernette du Guillet and Louise Labé.
The encyclopedia allocates four volumes to the 17th century, four to the 18th century, and 17 volumes to 19th-century poets. This first batch concludes with selected poems from veteran poets Francis Jammes and Charles Péguy, with future volumes set to feature other renowned poets who were active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Forthcoming volumes will focus on poets of the 20th century, a period marked by significant progress, transformation, and innovation, led by prominent individual voices and poetic movements that have left a lasting mark on the history of French poetry.
Besides French poets, the encyclopedia will include notable figures from sub-Saharan Africa, overseas island territories, the Levant, the Maghreb, and the West, who have enriched the French language with outstanding poetic works. These will be featured alongside individual and collective volumes dedicated to major figures of French and Francophone poetry.
